Agriculture student sows seeds of victory

HATFIELD — A student from Oaklands’ new Agriculture course ploughed her way to victory at a local farming competition.

Four students took part in the Young Farmers Ploughing Match at Hill End Farm near Hatfield, and 17-year-old Holly Harris took first place.

Holly, from Berkhamsted, said: “I’m really pleased to have won the competition. I wanted to study agriculture because I like working with animals and I like the idea of working on a farm. I had never driven a tractor before I came to college so I was a bit surprised to win.”

Competitors were tasked with ploughing part of a field, with points being awarded for straightness and neatness of the resulting furrows.

Oaklands’ Animal Care Lecturer Colin Elcombe said: “It’s a great achievement for Holly and it’s fantastic to see her putting the skills she has learnt at college into practice. This course gives the students a really good basic knowledge about agriculture which is a great starting point for when they enter into the industry.”